NO REFS..

STEVE CONROY accepts scrutiny is art and parcel of refereeing these days - and rightly so.

- FRASER WILSON

But the former Grade One official insists there's a line between critical observation and personal attacks that should never be crossed.

Conroy is uncomfortable with the ongoing fall-out from the weekend's Old Firm derby and the first-half flashpoint where referee Nick Walsh and VAR Willie Collum failed to award a penalty to Rangers for handball against Alistair Johnston.

He reckons Rangers had a strong case with their appeals at the time of the incident.

Indeed he believes it was a clear penalty - but when it wasn't given that should have been the end of the matter.

And Conroy insists any Ibrox call for Collum to be banned from involvement in their future matches is way over the score.

Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove and director of football operations Creag Robertson met SFA head of referee operations Crawford Allan on Wednesday to discuss their concerns over the background to the incident.

A Gers spokesperson later claimed there had been an overriding consensus' at the meeting that Collum had got it wrong but the SFA strongly dispute the club's account of the summit.

They added that Rangers had made a number of specific requests that it hopes the Scottish FA will respond to in order to improve matters going forward'.

One of those requests was for Collum to no longer officiate at their matches, which has been kicked out, with another being that the VAR audio is made public.

Conroy insists taking Collum off Rangers games at the club's behest can never happen.

He told Record Sport: "It's not up to Rangers who gets appointed.